Suncor releases water from oil sands pond into Athabasca River

CALGARY, Alberta, March 26 (Reuters) - Suncor Energy Inc
, Canada's No. 1 oil producer, released water from a
holding pond at its oil sands project into the Athabasca River,
Alberta's environment department said on Tuesday.

Alberta Environment said it does not yet know whether the
water that was sent by pipe into the river contained toxic
materials. Samples from the pond are being sent for analysis and
it will take at least a day before results are returned.

Wayne Wood, a spokesman for Alberta Environment Minister
Diana McQueen, said the volume of water sent into the river has
not yet been determined.